KNOXVILLE, Tn- The men's tennis team completed their weekend road-trip going 3-0 against Southwest Virginia Community College, Ferrum College, and Greensboro College. The Royals put away the SWCC Eagles 8-1, the Ferrum Panthers 6-3, and the Greensboro Pride 9-0. Despite the convincing team wins, there were many close and exciting matchups on court.
For the Royals first opponent, the best match of the day came at the top spot as Sophomore Kaden Buchanan was able to put away his lefty opponent 8-5. Another key win came at the number 5 spot where senior Stephen Damon was able to record an 8-2 victory.
Against Ferrum, the Royals would use clutch doubles play to build an early 2-1 lead with Noah Brown and Kaden Buchanan teaming up for a 7-5 win on the top court and Jacob Keeling and Daniel Orahood pairing for a 6-3 victory on court 2. With a doubles lead intact, the Royals would extend that lead in singles scoring victories by Kaden Buchanan at the top spot, Cam Jones at the 3 spot, Daniel Orahood at the 5 spot, and Cade Crowe at the 6 spot.
The Royals final win would come the following day against Greensboro College. The Royals would jump to a quick 3-0 lead after doubles. Cam Jones and Gerett Benjamin would win without dropping a game in doubles. The Royals would continue to extend their lead with wins by Stephen Damon, Cade Crowe, and Ian Thomas. Attempting to complete the sweep, eyes would turn to the top two spots. Freshman Jacob Keeling would use his big serving to put away his opponent at the two spot 6-2, 6-4 and put the Royals one spot from the sweep. It would be Noah Brown who would play the tightest match of the day on court one, serving out his first set 6-4 before seeing the second set fade a tie break. With some clutch returning and serving, Noah would pull out the tiebreak and the match.
Again, Coach Hale was most impressed with the camaraderie shown throughout the matches. "The team really rallied around each other this week to fight for every point and match. We saw some really tense moments at Ferrum, and that match could have been a lot different if we would have dropped doubles, but we relied on each other and pulled it out. Then Saturday was just a fun experience with Noah. The courts were designed so we all had a front row seat to watch and cheer. He displayed so many of the characteristics we have talked about throughout this year and the team noticed them and helped cheer him on to a victory. I couldn't be more proud of this team and excited to finish the season up with them."
The Royals will play at home this Monday against Maryville College before heading to Chattanooga to play in the AAC Conference Tournament.